Hydropower & Greenhouse Gas

Researchers at Washington State University recently reported that reservoirs of all kinds are sources of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. One of the main reasons cited was the way some dams trap organic materials, which provide food for microbes – and more methane, in turn, is produced by the microbes.

However, the federal hydropower system on the Columbia and Snake rivers does not possess the characteristics or conditions for methane production. The reservoirs do not have large amounts of plant or biomass present or flowing into them which creates methane, the waters are not stratified or eutrophic and circulate regularly; and they contain high levels of dissolved oxygen.